Round up of week one of Dawn Sturgess Public Inquiry

From Monday, October 14 to Friday, October 18, the inquiry took place at Salisbury Guildhall.

Dawn Sturgess was pronounced dead at Salisbury District Hospital on July 8 2018, having been poisoned by Novichok which was present on a discarded perfume bottle. 

It followed the attempted murder of former spy Mr Skripal, his daughter Yulia and ex-police officer Nick Bailey, who were poisoned in March that year.

The Inquiry was formally established on March 17, 2022.

On Monday, an interview with Sergei Skripal was released for the first time, where he openly blamed Putin for the chemical attack which saw him fighting for his life in hospital. Click here to read all about it.

The family of Ms Sturgess also called on the chair, Lord Hughes, to invite Vladimir Putin to speak at the inquiry, saying 'he should not cower behind the walls of the Kremlin'.

A heartbreaking tribute was read by the mother of Ms Sturgess, Caroline Sturgess, including a quote from Ms Sturgess' daughter who said: 'one thing I will never forget is due to my age I never saw her or got to say goodbye'.

The inquiry will continue until December 2 at the International Dispute Resolution Centre in London (Image: NQ)

Wiltshire Police had to apologise for saying that Ms Sturgess was a 'known drug user', which was untrue. It was revealed that Mr Beresford Smith, duty inspector on the night of their poisonings (June 30, 2018) had said in a previous interview that he was 'professionally embarrassed' by his handling of the poisonings. 

The inquiry heard that it took just 15 minutes for Ms Sturgess to fall ill, after she sprayed the nerve agent (which was in a perfume bottle) on her wrists.

Mr Rowley's statement was read, recalling the morning Ms Sturgess became unwell, saying: 'I found her lying in the bath with her clothes on, just lying in the bath convulsing and foaming at the mouth and I panicked. I didn't know what to do'.

Paramedic Ben Channon, who, alongside colleague Lee Martin responded to the poisoning of Mr Rowley, revealed how they became sure Mr Rowley was suffering nerve agent poisoning, and felt 'dismissed' by police who said it was a drugs related incident. He described that he and Mr Martin felt 'particularly scared'.

It was also revealed that Sergei Skripal was saved after the correct drug was mistakenly administered to him by emergency services. Pictures of Mr Skripal's movements, with his daughter Yulia, before they were found slumped on a park bench can be viewed here.

To read the full account of the week, click here.